Teaching with Technology English 564—Fall 2016 Thursdays 4:00-6:45 p.m., 210 Capers Hall E-mail: lauren.maxwell@citadel.edu Phone: 843.953.5142 Office Hours: W 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. or by appointment, 119B Capers Hall
Overview: Have you ever wondered how you could incorporate technologies that your students use on a daily basis to enhance your instruction? Would you like to work with current teachers and educational technology specialists to develop web-based projects and technology strategies that you could actually apply in your future classes?
Teaching with Technology will give you the opportunity to learn about different web-based resources that you can use to improve your students’ writing and engagement with literature while getting them excited about learning. This course will provide interactive instruction designed to make activities in and out of the classroom more meaningful for your students.
Texts: Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology (Miller) Teaching the 4Cs with Technology (Smith Budhai and McLaughlin Taddei) Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works (Pitler, Hubbel, and Kuhn) Articles and essays distributed online or in class
Course Policies: Attendance – College regulations require that you attend at least 80% of the classes to be eligible to receive course credit; please make every effort to come to class. It is also important that you read the required texts and/or complete the required assignments before each week’s discussion so that everyone can benefit from your perspective. If you miss a class, be sure to contact me or ask one of your classmates what you missed. Finally, please remember to silence your cell phones at the beginning of each class.
Assignments – Each assignment for this course is a web-based project that will be graded by its own set of criteria. Because this is an English course, you will write a description of each project that explains how you created it and how you plan to use it. I will evaluate all assignments—both your actual project and your description of it—in terms of writing. Here are the criteria by which I will evaluate your writing:
Clarity of expression
Language use (style, tone, grammar, diction, etc.)
Effective use of rhetorical strategies to convey topic’s importance
Accuracy and representation of material
Creative presentation
If applicable, evidence of scholarship (engagement with relevant theoretical work or state standards)
Your assignments should focus on literary works and activities that are taught in grades you are preparing to teach. To help you create resources that you are more likely to use when you actually begin teaching, I would like you to contact an administrator or teacher from a local school and ask him or her what works are taught in a class you’d like to teach (see assignment for 8/30). Develop your projects on these works.
Deadlines – All assignments are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise specified. If you have an excused absence on a day when assignments are due, please submit your work inadvance or make alternate arrangements for its submission.
Reading Responses – Every class period for which there are assigned readings, post a response to those readings on the designated wikipage. These posts will contribute to your Discussion/Participation grade.
Peer Feedback – Because we have so many students in this class, everyone will not be able to present his or her project each week. For most of the projects, we’ll have about five presentations per week; each of you must present at least four times during the course of the semester. I’ll ask for volunteers in the class before the presentation. So that even those who don’t present will have feedback on their work from class members, I’d like for you to comment on at least three of your classmates’ projects each week prior to the class in which they’re due. These posts will contribute to your Discussion/Participation grade.
Assignments and Grades:
Discussion/Participation: 10%
Profile and Goals Statement: 5%
Prezi: 10%
Digital Storytelling Project: 10%
Oral History Project: 10%
Wiki Project: 10%
Blog Project: 10%
Current Scholarship Presentation: 5%
Emerging Technology Project: 5%
Project Presentations: 10%
Project Revision: 10%
Final Reflection: 5%
Course Outline Please note that reading and online assignments are due the day they appear on the syllabus.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: In addition to going over the syllabus, today in class you will create an online profile on our wikispace that will describe your educational philosophy and provide a platform for presenting all of the projects you’ll create this semester.
T 8/30PREZIS READING ASSIGNMENT: “Building 21st Century Skills Through Technology” and “Critical Thinking: Interdisciplinary Inquiry-Based Learning” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology; “Preface” from Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Using your online profile, create a post that outlines what your goals are for this course and discuss how you plan on working towards those goals. Here are some questions I’d like you to consider: How do you currently use technology in the classroom? What would you like to learn how to do? What ideas do you have for projects you’ll be completing in this class? What challenges must you overcome to reach your goals? What can I do to help you reach your goals?
As you address these questions, I would like for you to discuss your communication with the local schools’ employees about the technologies teachers use and the works that they teach. Both your overall goals for the course and the individual assignments you complete should take this information into account.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your online posts and share with the class your goals for the course. As a class we’ll discuss what we can do to help everyone meet his or her goals. We will discuss the readings, and then I will introduce you to prezis—what they are and how you might use them (instead of PowerPoint) in the classroom. Then you will have time to start working on your own prezi that you can use in a class you’re planning on teaching in the future.
T 9/6 MOVIEMAKER/iMOVIE/ANIMOTO READING ASSIGNMENT: “Introduction” and “Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; “Video” from The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Complete the prezi you began in class last week and post a link to it in your online profile. Then write a few paragraphs that explain what your prezi is about and how you plan to use it in your future classes.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your prezis to the class and explain how you plan to use them. Then we will have a guest speaker who will talk about options you have for creating video to use in your instruction, including the use of Moviemaker, iMovie, and Animoto. You’ll have an opportunity to start planning your video project.
T 9/13 DIGITAL STORYTELLING READING ASSIGNMENT: “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” and “Nonlinguistic Representations” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: For this project, you have two options. Option 1 is to post to your profile an assignment you would give your students that involves digital storytelling. If you choose this option, provide detailed descriptions of what type of story you want your students to tell, what online tools they will use, a schedule for completing the project, etc. Then create a sample story to show what the students’ projects might look like. Option 2 is to create a digital story using Moviemaker/iMovie/Animoto that would explain some concept to your students. For this option, you’ll post your story to your profile and then write a few paragraphs that discuss what your story is about and why you think this medium is particularly effective for teaching your chosen content.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your digital story assignments, and we will discuss possibilities for practical applications of video creation in your classroom.
T 9/20 EDITING ASSIGNMENT READING ASSIGNMENT: “Cooperative Learning” and “Assigning Homework and Providing Practice” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; pp. 76-87, pp. 106-116, and “Thinking” from Minds Online
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We will talk about the reading and discuss how you use Smart/Promethean Board technology in your classroom. We will demonstrate how the technology at The Citadel works and show how we use these editing capabilities to improve student writing. We will have a guest speaker who recently graduated from the MAT Program who will discuss using technology in the classroom and the ways Google Docs can help improve students’ writing. Then you will have time to begin working on your own project involving instruction through editing.
T 9/27 ORAL HISTORIES READING ASSIGNMENT: Doing Oral History: “An Oral History of Our Time” and “Conducting Interviews” (distributed electronically) and “Audio” from The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that describes an activity you’ve designed that uses in-class editing to improve student writing. Explain what the students’ writing assignment is, what types of edits would be made (and by whom), and why this type of activity would help your students write better.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your editing activity to the class, and we’ll discuss the benefits and possible pitfalls of this type of instruction. Then we will discuss the readings on oral history and introduce you to ways you might incorporate an oral history unit into your own instruction.
T 10/4 WIKIS READING ASSIGNMENT: “Summarizing and Note Taking” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; “Incorporating Multimedia Effectively” from Minds Online
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, you’ll have two options. You may either design an oral history project for your future students, or you may create a lesson plan using oral histories that are already posted to the web. For the first option, you’ll create an assignment that explains to your students what interviews they’ll be conducting, how they will go about doing them, and what they’ll be doing with the interviews once they’ve completed them. In the second option, you’ll be writing a lesson plan that details how your instruction will utilize oral history collections.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your oral history projects, and we’ll discuss the reading. Then we will talk more specifically about wikis and how you might use them in your classroom. You’ll also have the opportunity to get started on your wiki project.
T 10/11 BLOGS READING ASSIGNMENT: “Communication: Videos, Wikis, Blogs, and Social Media” and “Collaboration: Teaming with Teachers and Partnering with Peers” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Create a wiki for one of your classes; link to it on your profile. Write an explanation of how your students will use the wiki and how it will help them learn the material.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your wiki projects, and then we will talk about the use of blogs in the classroom. We will talk about ways you can use blogs as part of your instruction, and you’ll have the chance to get started on your blog project.
T 10/18 CURRENT SCHOLARSHIP ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY READING ASSIGNMENT: “Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recogition” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Design an activity for your future students that involves their creating a blog. Describe what the blog will be about, provide instructions about how to create it, and explain how the activity will further your teaching goals.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your blog activities, and we’ll discuss the benefits and potential drawbacks of using blogs in the classroom. Then you will start looking for a publication to present on next class.
T 10/25 EXPLORING SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES READING ASSIGNMENT: “Creativity: Encouraging Innovation and Invention” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that summarizes in two or three paragraphs the publication you selected on the topic of educational technology. Then discuss the implications of the findings for you and your fellow students.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present on the scholarship you researched, and we’ll introduce you to the emerging technology project that we’ll begin next week. We will have a guest speaker from CCSD’s Office of Teacher Effectiveness who will talk about being a new teacher and how to use technology to inspire students to do their best work.
T 11/1 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES READING ASSIGNMENT: “Motivating Students” and “Putting It All Together” from Minds Online; “Conclusion” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We’ll discuss the reading, and then we will explore the place for social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and other emerging technologies in the classroom. You will have time to design and begin working on a project of your choosing involving any webtool or platform we have not already used in class.
T 11/8 No Class—Election Day
T 11/15 REVISING PROJECTS ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Design a project you can use in your instruction that involves social media or emerging technologies we have not covered in class. Write a post that accompanies your project that explains how this project will further your students’ learning.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your project to the class, and we will discuss the newest frontiers of educational technology. You will then have time to begin revising your projects for the revision assignment.
T 11/22 No Class—Fall Break
T 11/29 SUBMIT FINAL REVISIONS ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Take the project that you’ve created for this class that you think needs the most improvement and revise it. Post the revised version and a discussion of how and why you’ve improved it on your profile.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your revisions, and we’ll talk about the future of educational technology.
T 12/6 REFLECTION ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that discusses your experience in this class and how you’ve used or how you plan to use the projects you’ve created for it. What activities have been the most helpful? Which didn’t work as you thought they would? Has your conception of educational technology changed? If so, how?
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We will discuss everyone’s reflections and will have an end-of-the-semester gathering.
English 564—Fall 2016
Thursdays 4:00-6:45 p.m., 210 Capers Hall
E-mail: lauren.maxwell@citadel.edu
Phone: 843.953.5142
Office Hours: W 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
and 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
or by appointment, 119B Capers Hall
Have you ever wondered how you could incorporate technologies that your students use on a daily basis to enhance your instruction? Would you like to work with current teachers and educational technology specialists to develop web-based projects and technology strategies that you could actually apply in your future classes?
Teaching with Technology will give you the opportunity to learn about different web-based resources that you can use to improve your students’ writing and engagement with literature while getting them excited about learning. This course will provide interactive instruction designed to make activities in and out of the classroom more meaningful for your students.
Texts:
Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology (Miller)
Teaching the 4Cs with Technology (Smith Budhai and McLaughlin Taddei)
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works (Pitler, Hubbel, and Kuhn)
Articles and essays distributed online or in class
Recommended Resources:
Our class wiki: http://eng564.wikispaces.com/
http://library.citadel.edu/education
http://www.citadel.edu/library/Research/english.htm
http://prezi.com/index/
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
http://maps.google.com
http://www.google.com/mapmaker
https://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-language-arts-lessons
http://www.ccsdinnovation.com/
http://www.iste.org/
http://www.edweek.org/dd/
http://www.edutopia.org/
http://www.edutopia.org/grants-and-resources
https://animoto.com/
http://www.storyboardthat.com/
Course Policies:
Attendance – College regulations require that you attend at least 80% of the classes to be eligible to receive course credit; please make every effort to come to class. It is also important that you read the required texts and/or complete the required assignments before each week’s discussion so that everyone can benefit from your perspective. If you miss a class, be sure to contact me or ask one of your classmates what you missed. Finally, please remember to silence your cell phones at the beginning of each class.
Assignments – Each assignment for this course is a web-based project that will be graded by its own set of criteria. Because this is an English course, you will write a description of each project that explains how you created it and how you plan to use it. I will evaluate all assignments—both your actual project and your description of it—in terms of writing. Here are the criteria by which I will evaluate your writing:
- Clarity of expression
- Language use (style, tone, grammar, diction, etc.)
- Effective use of rhetorical strategies to convey topic’s importance
- Accuracy and representation of material
- Creative presentation
- If applicable, evidence of scholarship (engagement with relevant theoretical work or state standards)
Your assignments should focus on literary works and activities that are taught in grades you are preparing to teach. To help you create resources that you are more likely to use when you actually begin teaching, I would like you to contact an administrator or teacher from a local school and ask him or her what works are taught in a class you’d like to teach (see assignment for 8/30). Develop your projects on these works.Deadlines – All assignments are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise specified. If you have an excused absence on a day when assignments are due, please submit your work inadvance or make alternate arrangements for its submission.
Reading Responses – Every class period for which there are assigned readings, post a response to those readings on the designated wikipage. These posts will contribute to your Discussion/Participation grade.
Peer Feedback – Because we have so many students in this class, everyone will not be able to present his or her project each week. For most of the projects, we’ll have about five presentations per week; each of you must present at least four times during the course of the semester. I’ll ask for volunteers in the class before the presentation. So that even those who don’t present will have feedback on their work from class members, I’d like for you to comment on at least three of your classmates’ projects each week prior to the class in which they’re due. These posts will contribute to your Discussion/Participation grade.
Assignments and Grades:
Course Outline
Please note that reading and online assignments are due the day they appear on the syllabus.
T 8/23 Course introduction; review syllabus; discuss grading; create online profile
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: In addition to going over the syllabus, today in class you will create an online profile on our wikispace that will describe your educational philosophy and provide a platform for presenting all of the projects you’ll create this semester.
T 8/30 PREZIS
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Building 21st Century Skills Through Technology” and “Critical Thinking: Interdisciplinary Inquiry-Based Learning” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology; “Preface” from Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Using your online profile, create a post that outlines what your goals are for this course and discuss how you plan on working towards those goals. Here are some questions I’d like you to consider: How do you currently use technology in the classroom? What would you like to learn how to do? What ideas do you have for projects you’ll be completing in this class? What challenges must you overcome to reach your goals? What can I do to help you reach your goals?
As you address these questions, I would like for you to discuss your communication with the local schools’ employees about the technologies teachers use and the works that they teach. Both your overall goals for the course and the individual assignments you complete should take this information into account.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your online posts and share with the class your goals for the course. As a class we’ll discuss what we can do to help everyone meet his or her goals. We will discuss the readings, and then I will introduce you to prezis—what they are and how you might use them (instead of PowerPoint) in the classroom. Then you will have time to start working on your own prezi that you can use in a class you’re planning on teaching in the future.
T 9/6 MOVIEMAKER/iMOVIE/ANIMOTO
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Introduction” and “Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; “Video” from The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Complete the prezi you began in class last week and post a link to it in your online profile. Then write a few paragraphs that explain what your prezi is about and how you plan to use it in your future classes.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your prezis to the class and explain how you plan to use them. Then we will have a guest speaker who will talk about options you have for creating video to use in your instruction, including the use of Moviemaker, iMovie, and Animoto. You’ll have an opportunity to start planning your video project.
T 9/13 DIGITAL STORYTELLING
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” and “Nonlinguistic Representations” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: For this project, you have two options. Option 1 is to post to your profile an assignment you would give your students that involves digital storytelling. If you choose this option, provide detailed descriptions of what type of story you want your students to tell, what online tools they will use, a schedule for completing the project, etc. Then create a sample story to show what the students’ projects might look like. Option 2 is to create a digital story using Moviemaker/iMovie/Animoto that would explain some concept to your students. For this option, you’ll post your story to your profile and then write a few paragraphs that discuss what your story is about and why you think this medium is particularly effective for teaching your chosen content.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your digital story assignments, and we will discuss possibilities for practical applications of video creation in your classroom.
T 9/20 EDITING ASSIGNMENT
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Cooperative Learning” and “Assigning Homework and Providing Practice” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; pp. 76-87, pp. 106-116, and “Thinking” from Minds Online
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We will talk about the reading and discuss how you use Smart/Promethean Board technology in your classroom. We will demonstrate how the technology at The Citadel works and show how we use these editing capabilities to improve student writing. We will have a guest speaker who recently graduated from the MAT Program who will discuss using technology in the classroom and the ways Google Docs can help improve students’ writing. Then you will have time to begin working on your own project involving instruction through editing.
T 9/27 ORAL HISTORIES
READING ASSIGNMENT: Doing Oral History: “An Oral History of Our Time” and “Conducting Interviews” (distributed electronically) and “Audio” from The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that describes an activity you’ve designed that uses in-class editing to improve student writing. Explain what the students’ writing assignment is, what types of edits would be made (and by whom), and why this type of activity would help your students write better.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your editing activity to the class, and we’ll discuss the benefits and possible pitfalls of this type of instruction. Then we will discuss the readings on oral history and introduce you to ways you might incorporate an oral history unit into your own instruction.
T 10/4 WIKIS
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Summarizing and Note Taking” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works; “Incorporating Multimedia Effectively” from Minds Online
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, you’ll have two options. You may either design an oral history project for your future students, or you may create a lesson plan using oral histories that are already posted to the web. For the first option, you’ll create an assignment that explains to your students what interviews they’ll be conducting, how they will go about doing them, and what they’ll be doing with the interviews once they’ve completed them. In the second option, you’ll be writing a lesson plan that details how your instruction will utilize oral history collections.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your oral history projects, and we’ll discuss the reading. Then we will talk more specifically about wikis and how you might use them in your classroom. You’ll also have the opportunity to get started on your wiki project.
T 10/11 BLOGS
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Communication: Videos, Wikis, Blogs, and Social Media” and “Collaboration: Teaming with Teachers and Partnering with Peers” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Create a wiki for one of your classes; link to it on your profile. Write an explanation of how your students will use the wiki and how it will help them learn the material.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your wiki projects, and then we will talk about the use of blogs in the classroom. We will talk about ways you can use blogs as part of your instruction, and you’ll have the chance to get started on your blog project.
T 10/18 CURRENT SCHOLARSHIP ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recogition” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Design an activity for your future students that involves their creating a blog. Describe what the blog will be about, provide instructions about how to create it, and explain how the activity will further your teaching goals.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your blog activities, and we’ll discuss the benefits and potential drawbacks of using blogs in the classroom. Then you will start looking for a publication to present on next class.
T 10/25 EXPLORING SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Creativity: Encouraging Innovation and Invention” from Teaching the 4Cs with Technology
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that summarizes in two or three paragraphs the publication you selected on the topic of educational technology. Then discuss the implications of the findings for you and your fellow students.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present on the scholarship you researched, and we’ll introduce you to the emerging technology project that we’ll begin next week. We will have a guest speaker from CCSD’s Office of Teacher Effectiveness who will talk about being a new teacher and how to use technology to inspire students to do their best work.
T 11/1 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
READING ASSIGNMENT: “Motivating Students” and “Putting It All Together” from Minds Online; “Conclusion” from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We’ll discuss the reading, and then we will explore the place for social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and other emerging technologies in the classroom. You will have time to design and begin working on a project of your choosing involving any webtool or platform we have not already used in class.
T 11/8 No Class—Election Day
T 11/15 REVISING PROJECTS
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Design a project you can use in your instruction that involves social media or emerging technologies we have not covered in class. Write a post that accompanies your project that explains how this project will further your students’ learning.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your project to the class, and we will discuss the newest frontiers of educational technology. You will then have time to begin revising your projects for the revision assignment.
T 11/22 No Class—Fall Break
T 11/29 SUBMIT FINAL REVISIONS
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Take the project that you’ve created for this class that you think needs the most improvement and revise it. Post the revised version and a discussion of how and why you’ve improved it on your profile.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: You will present your revisions, and we’ll talk about the future of educational technology.
T 12/6 REFLECTION
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: Write a post that discusses your experience in this class and how you’ve used or how you plan to use the projects you’ve created for it. What activities have been the most helpful? Which didn’t work as you thought they would? Has your conception of educational technology changed? If so, how?
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: We will discuss everyone’s reflections and will have an end-of-the-semester gathering.